Fight Night Champion Review

Quick -- who's your all-time favorite protagonist in a video game? Nathan Drake? Master Chief? Fair enough; I'll buy either of those. Now, who's your all-time favorite protagonist in a sports videogame? It's a ridiculous question, isn't it? Or rather, it was a ridiculous question before Fight Night Champion. Thanks to EA's new Champion Mode, I can now confidently bestow that honor on Andre Bishop.

Pressing start in Fight Night Champion drops you immediately onto the mat in Champion Mode, where you assume the role of young Andre as he emerges from the amateur boxing ranks, endures some considerable personal turmoil, and brawls his way back for a shot at the title -- and redemption. If that sounds a little too much like the plot of a popular movie series, that's because Champion Mode essentially is an interactive Rocky movie; the only things missing are a chicken-chasing minigame and a music-soaked sprint up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Emmanuelle Vaugier Sarah Silverman Larissa Meek Gina Carano Sanaa Lathan